Electrical wall switches, such as those of the toggle type, are conventionally installed at a height convenient for manipulation by adults and older children. Small children, unable to reach the switch, are tempted at times to get up on a stool, chair or any available means enabling them to reach the switch, which may provide an infirm support or otherwise subject the child to a hazard of slipping or falling with consequent injury.
Familiar wall switches and particularly those used in dwellings, comprise a switch box or housing fixedly mounted in a hollow provided in the wall. The switch, generally of the single pole toggle type, is attached to the box by upper and lower screws inserted through holes in a mounting plate at the front of the switch, with the mounting plate being generally substantially flush with the wall surface. Equidistant from the top and bottom switch-mounting screws, the mounting plate is further provided with threaded holes, conventionally at centers two and three-eighths inches (23/8 in.=6.0325 cm.) apart, to receive screws by which the wall plate is attached to the mounting plate of the switch, thus covering the hollow opening in the wall. The operating finger for actuating the switch to ON and OFF positions projects through a central vertical slot in the wall plate.